Bug finally decided it’s just too hot. They have always refused to go in past their knees (if they had knees) but I think she just had enough of this heat, like the rest of us. After about a 2 mile run she was ready to take the plunge. Now she can’t get enough. Swimmy Bug 🙂 I sit on a flat rock and put my feet in and watch her swim around. So cute!
I’ll be at the Charlotte Regional Farmer’s Market tomorrow with:
A ground beef special for your Labor Day cookouts! Buy 5 pounds, get one pound free. While supplies last.
baby ginger, sweet peppers & jalepenos, 3 kinds of eggplant, okra, garlic, potatoes: German Butterball, Peppermint, Huckleberry Gold, Carola bakers;Â cipollini, red & yellow onions; wheat berries.
What’s that you say? You want the secret to amazing potato salad? Potato salad that has SO MUCH FLAVOR that you can’t bear to drown it in globs of mayo? OK: the secret (aside from starting with potatoes that taste awesome – I like to mix all my varieties) is to soak the drained, steaming hot potatoes with wine vinegar (red or white are both good!) Just a few tablespoons, toss a few times while they soak it all up. When cooled, dress with: 2 Tb whole grain mustard, just 2 TB mayo, and herbs and spices: thyme, dill, smoked paprika, fresh ground pepper and roasted garlic sea salt! ALL OF THOSE. I also like ground coriander or celery seed. Of course lots of red onion and sweet peppers.
I’ll have our grass fed, grass finished Angus beef in these cuts: Ribeyes, NY strips, filets, sirloins, skirt, ground beef, stew beef, philly steak, cube steak, oso bucco short ribs, brisket, soup bones (BOGO 50% off), liver, sirloin tip roasts, eye of round and bone-in chuck roasts, and bologna, pastrami, corned beef, hot dogs made from 100% grass fed beef without any nitrates/nitrites.
I’m pretty disappointed in the ginger this year, instead of growing big roots it’s grown lots of bushy tops, they say that’s caused by excessive temps. Shrimpy ginger it is. That won’t stop us from making Strawberry Ginger Margaritas! Just about a nickel size piece of ginger, 5 frozen organic strawberries, juice of 1 lime, 1.5 oz silver tequila, agave or simple syrup to taste (dep on how sweet the strawberries are, maybe .75 oz) in the blender. I also add a shot of water. My blender has a single serving size mini blender that works perfect.
I’m calling it. A) It’s time to take up sweet potatoes AND B) I just made meatloaf, so it is officially FALL as far as I’m concerned. Nevermind that it’s going back to the 90s next week, I’m not going outside on those days.
Ok lies – I’ll be digging sweet potatoes every day. I have peanuts to get to work on too.
When I make meatloaf I very finely chop a half pound of mushrooms and saute them with onion, garlic, thyme, oregano, salt, pepper and smoked paprika and add that to my ground beef. I don’t use egg or breadcrumbs.
The mushrooms soak up all those flavors that they’re sauteed with and keep the meatloaf moist and so flavorful. You have to cook the ‘shroom mixture down until all the moisture is gone before adding it to the beef. If I had spinach I’d be adding that too, don’t tell anyone. So I like to veg it up! Sue me.
The cows just discovered the hay we threw out.
The alfalfa square bales got rained on last week or last weekend, or this week? I DON”T KNOW. One of the days when they said NO RAIN TODAY and he’d just finished baling but didn’t have it all picked up and in the barn yet. Anyway Shane loaded the ruined bales up on a truck and we drove around the pasture throwing them to the cows. Oh they were so excited! Alfalfa snacks.
Everyone else found them too.
The bulls came to watch, they got a few bales too.
See you tomorrow!